Abstract

We have identified a mechanism of collective nuclear de-excitation in a Bose–Einstein condensate of 135Cs atoms in their isomeric state, 135mCs, suitable for the generation of coherent gamma photons. The process described here relies on coherence transfer from the Bose–Einstein condensate to the photon field, leading to collective decay triggered by spontaneous emission of a gamma photon. The mechanism differs from single-pass amplification, which cannot occur in atomic systems due to the nuclear recoil and the associated large shift between absorption and emission lines, nor does it require the large densities necessary for standard Dicke super-radiance. This overcomes the limitations that have been hindering the production of coherent gamma photons in many systems. Therefore, we propose an approach for generation of coherent gamma rays, which relies on a combination of well established techniques of nuclear and atomic physics, and can be realized with currently available technology.